r/cats • • 25d ago

Mourning/Loss My cat (17) will be euthanized next week and I‘m in shambles. Can you guys post your cats as well so she can make friends on the rainbow road?

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60.7k Upvotes

My precious baby that has been companying me since I was 11 will be euthanized next week. I saw all these beautiful posts here of all of your little devils and also of those that have crossed the rainbow road but everytime I saw these posts I was not only melting away at how beautiful and cute they are, I also knew that mine would be on that road as well.

It seems that time is now coming and I“m having a hard time accepting it. She has gotten cancer at her jaw this year all of a sudden and its now starting to turn real ugly. She still is cuddling with us, eating, purring and sleeping normally but today when visiting the Vet, he opened her mouth and the one side was looking really badly. She was already starting to have less of an apetite this week, which was the initial reason to check up on her again.

The vet basically said that this is already looking real bad and that we should relief her of her pain if we love her. BUT ITS SO HARD to accept that when she is still the way she is.

I want to share some puctures i took of her today and my favorite ones. If you like, u could post yours as well so that she will have some initial friends on the other side ❤️. Her name is Kitty 🫶🏼.

r/cats • • Sep 03 '26

Mourning/Loss Just had to euthenize my cat due to a urinary blockage. He was only three. He was a really good guy. I want everyone to know he existed

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86.5k Upvotes

Mikey, birthday April 13. The same as my Uncle Mikey. Cat Mikey was very vocal and made us laugh every day. I swear you could understand what he was saying.

Loved:

- Sleeping in the armchair

- Meal times

- Spring toys

- Eating, EATING!!! actual mice. Decent hunter.

-Sleeping on laps. Must be wearing a blanket. (You could tell he was pleased with where he was about to lay by his meow. He would jump up, shift around a bit, then you wait. If you get a good meow/purr mixture before he even sits down, you have been chosen)

Hated:

- Being picked up

- Late meal times (would often argue by just meowing louder than you were telling him "I'll do it in a second!")

- Having his preferred sleeping spots occupied

- Crinkly paper bags. Big spook.

RIP Mikey. He was very kind, soft, and funny.

This is my first loss like this. Thanks for letting me share him. 🧡

r/cats • • Aug 14 '26

Mourning/Loss Saying goodbye to our 24 year old baby

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119.2k Upvotes

We’re saying goodbye to our sweet baby tomorrow. We’ve spent the past week with her, letting her eat whatever she wants, hugging her, and crying. She had her 24th birthday on the 3rd, and things went downhill so fast after that. Personality wise, she’s her amazing self. But her arthritis is so bad. I know this is the right thing for her, but my heart is so broken. I’ve had her for over half my life. She’s been my best friend for so long. I just don’t know how to say goodbye. *I just wanted to add the junk food is from this morning. She has always had a very healthy diet.
Edited to add her name is Foosa ❤️ Thank you so much to everyone for your love and support. I’m reading all your comments and crying.
I know I didn’t go into a whole lot of detail, but her arthritis is so bad that she can’t hold herself steady to eat anymore. She falls over when walking sometimes, or gives up all together and just lays down. We tried laser treatments last month, and it helped a little bit. But she took a sudden turn right after her birthday. Since it got so bad, I have been pushing her around the house in her stroller so she can always be with us. Making this decision is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Seeing her like this, when she’s always been so active and happy, broke my heart for her. Shes so tired all the time now, and I can see how much pain she’s in.

*Second Edit I really wanted to express my gratitude to everyone that’s reached out. I’ve been reading everything, and hopefully I can slowly start responding. When I first posted, I was so sad and scared that I could hardly get my thoughts in order. Now I’m so sad that I can hardly do much of anything. But I would like to share a little bit more about my Foosy baby.
I got her when I was a teenager. I’ve had her for most of my life. Every difficult thing I’ve been through, she’s been there. When I met my husband, she instantly fell in love with him. The three of us have been a family ever since. She was always with us. She followed us around everywhere, and hated to be left out. She was so vocal, she was always meowing and purring. We talked to her like she was people, and I would always sing and dance with her. She loved attention just as much as she loved food. She always had a healthy appetite, but never had any interest in human food until she turned 20. Then it was a battle to keep her away from our plates, or to keep her from knocking food out of our hands. Even durning her last few weeks, it’s like she would get super hero strength to try and get to our food. She would get big black cartoon eyes, and we always had to give her a little bite… how could anyone resist that face??
3 years ago, she was diagnosed with stage one kidney disease. I was devastated, I had no idea what that would mean for her. Thankfully, we were able to treat it with diet and subcutaneous fluids once a week. We took her in for a senior pet check up every six months, and her kidney disease never progressed. They were actually times where her values improved. She always hovered between late stage one, and early stage two.
Earlier this year, we noticed she was losing weight, even though she was eating so much. At her senior pet check up in March, they couldn’t find any reason for it. Her labs actually came back pretty much perfect, and her kidney values had improved again at that point. Her vet joked that she should be studied for science. I was so happy, all I wanted was for her to be comfortable, happy, and healthy.
Since March, things started changing rapidly. Her weight kept dropping, and her arthritis was getting so bad. She had arthritis for about the last two years, and we had tried Solensia to see if that would help. It made her super nauseous, so we agreed to not go further with the injections. I started carrying her around the house more, to ease her joins a little. She never stopped following us around the house, even in the end. But it was harder and harder for her. So I would just carry her with me wherever I was going to be.
In July we decided to try laser therapy to see if that helped her pain. It really did help a little, but I also think it was too far progressed by then. It was all happening so fast. About two and a half weeks ago, I brought her in for her senior pet check up to get another look at labs since things had changed so much. For the first time in her life, they found quite a few concerning things. (Ironically, her kidney values were still stable) I was devastated and scared. I always swore I wouldn’t allow her to suffer. We didn’t want to put her through any further testing. And to be honest, if it was just those underlying issues, I would’ve kept her as comfortable as possible and supported her as long as it seemed right. But with her arthritis, being as bad as it was, she had no strength or energy to fight. By that weekend she mostly stopped eating. She would try, but she had such a hard time holding herself up. I did everything I could to assist her. I would hold her dish up, let her eat out of my hand, prop her dishes up with towels, sit with her while she ate…everything worked just a little bit. But it wasn’t enough. She was still really excited about food. I actually have the cutest picture of her from last weekend when I was cooking her ground beef, and she’s sitting in her stroller next to me while I was cooking, reaching up, trying to get to it. But she only had a bite or two. She was just in too much pain to eat. By Monday morning, when it was her 3rd day of not really eating, my husband and I made the decision that we would have to say goodbye Friday. We both took the week off work and spent every second with her. I also spent a lot of time cooking for her, trying to get her to eat anything. She was excited about it all, but would sway or her legs would give out if she was on her feet took long. It was so hard for her to get around, so I would bring her to her dishes and try to get her to eat. All she wanted to do was be held, and she would climb into my lap instead.
I stayed up with her all night on her last night. I held her, talked to her, cried, and we watched arrested Development. Being on the couch with us watching TV was her favorite. She was quiet and calm. We noticed on Tuesday that she had quit meowing for the most part. This was a kitty that even two weeks ago, never ran out of things to say. But she was still staring up at me, purring, and occasionally reaching up and touching my face with her little paw. I was hoping something would happen that night. That maybe she would somehow miraculously recover, and we could call everything off. I took her to her litter box and food dishes every few hours that night. She never ate or drank, and went to the bathroom once.
I knew would could probably put it off. Have a few more days with her. But she was getting too weak and skinny. You would never know, because she was so fluffy, but on her last morning she weighed 3.6. She had lost a few ounces since her blood draw two weeks ago, and at that point I was already concerned about her weight loss. We just couldn’t let her keep getting smaller.
She was so happy with us, content, felt safe….but she was also so tired. She fought as hard as she could. My husband and I also gave it our everything to make sure she was always happy and healthy.
I know 24 years is incredible. But it’s also all I’ve ever known. We were always a team, she was the thing I was most proud of. I really don’t even know what to do without her. I keep expecting her to come around the corner. I keep hearing her.
We’ve spent the last few days crying and talking about all the memories and what ifs. I’m hoping there might be some comfort in having her back with us. We ordered most of the memorial pieces they offered, along with some things we’re going to do ourselves.
Having this little kitty in my life was the best thing that ever happened to me. She was so funny, self assured, loving, and happy. If I would sing in the shower, she would be right there with me howling. She could be sleeping so heavy in her room, and if I sat down somewhere in the house, she always knew. She would be wide awake and in my lap within 30 seconds.
She definitely took a huge piece of us with her. She will always be missed.

r/cats • • Sep 04 '26

Mourning/Loss Lost my soulmate today

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55.1k Upvotes

First and last photos of me and Folti plus some more because she was the most beautiful. I got Folti when I had just turned 7, still in first grade. I am now 24, she was 17, I don’t know life without her. Her health started declining a year ago, vet appointments became frequent.

I was fortunate enough to spend basically all of summer at home with her, my life became taking care of her. I started preparing myself for her passing a while ago. I was incredibly grateful for each day we got to spend together.

I cried lying next to her the whole day yesterday because when I looked in her eyes I knew our time was coming to an end. But no amount of preparing helped, her death hurts so much and even after all the anticipatory grief, it still felt so sudden. I just keep wishing for more time.

The house feels empty without her and I don’t know what to do with all this emptiness. I have no idea what to do or how to get through this. She was my greatest love. I don’t know how to live without her. Does it ever get easier????

r/cats • • 17d ago

Mourning/Loss My sweet boy Benji is crossing the rainbow bridge this weekend! Need him to make friends:)

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20.9k Upvotes

Hello,

My sweet 2 year so boy Benjamin will be crossing the rainbow bridge this weekend. It’s heart breaking because he got sick unexpectedly, but I need him to make friends so show me your babies:)

He is a very sweet boy, who is social and loves to jump.

r/cats • • 19d ago

Mourning/Loss My poor baby, went to get fixed. Never got to come home

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35.8k Upvotes

Katsu was 7 months old. Full of energy, healthy and happy. He was recovering from surgery well and about an hour after we got the text that he was doing well we got a call. His heart had stopped and he didn’t have a great chance.
I rushed this morning trying to take him before work to the vet for his appointment at 7:30, now I wish I had taken an extra second to tell him good bye.
He played fetch and gave the best snuggles, forever one of my favorite cats.

Edit: thank you all for so much support. I’m so thankful I got to share my baby boy with so many people. I know he can feel the love where he is from so so many people around the world. Love you strangers
For the few weirdos, I’m happily married and hitting on a women from a post like this is so strange even if I was single, you would be ghosted all the same.

r/cats • • 12d ago

Mourning/Loss In a couple of hours, he'll be put to sleep...I don't know if I'm doing the right thing

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22.4k Upvotes

I am so, so, so scared. I’m scared that it’s too early and that I should reconsider his euthanasia appointment later today. Maybe I should reschedule it. I don’t want him to be gone.

Cinnamon was diagnosed with left-sided congestive heart failure about a month ago. Since then, he has had fluid drained from his lungs twice. His health has deteriorated so quickly. He stopped eating and started losing a lot of weight. He is so skinny now that I can feel his spine when I pet his back.

He was given an appetite stimulant, but unfortunately it didn’t help much. His fluid came back again last week, and i made the call to let him go. But now that the day is actually here, i feel so conflicted.

The hardest part is that he still sometimes seems like himself. He’s been eating his Churu treats, still using his litter box, still walking around, and still likes going outside. Last night, he even started eating a little bit of his food again. He even has a little energy left to wiggle his way out of my arms.

I’m so scared that maybe it’s still too early to let him go. What if I reschedule the appointment? What if I have another chest tap today to drain the fluid and prolong his life another week or two? I know that would probably just delay the inevitable, but I’m not ready to part with him. I’m terrified that I’m making the wrong decision and that's it's still too early and that I’ll regret it.

What would you do if you're in my situation...? I'm so devasted and scared and upset... I'm not ready for him to leave my life yet...

UPDATE: Thank you so much to everyone for your kind words, comfort, and for sharing your experiences with me. ❤️ Reading all of your comments helped me feel more at peace with my decision. I was able to find another vet who offers at-home euthanasia, and she will be coming tomorrow to help Cinnamon pass peacefully at home. In a way, I feel a sense of relief knowing that my baby won’t have to suffer or be in pain anymore...Today, I’m going to spoil him with lots of treats, snuggles, kisses, and all the love I can possibly give him 💞

Last Update: October 2nd 2:30pm, Cinnamon passed away peacefully in my arms. It was the hardest decision of my life. He had only just turned 9 and was taken away far too soon. He was such a sweet, cheeky, and smart baby. I love him so, so, so, so much. 🥀❤️

I'm absolutely heartbroken, distressed, and miserable knowing that he's not here with me anymore. I don't know what to do now that he's gone. He was my everything. I just want my baby back. I'm so scared that I didn't spoil him enough or love him enough, or that he hates me for doing this to him. I haven't been able to stop shaking and sobbing since yesterday, and I'm just completely filled with grief. I cried until I fell asleep and woke up today without hearing any of his meows and absolutely broke down. I miss him so, so, so much. 💔

I had him since he was a little kitten. He loved eating treats, getting chin scratches, and playing outside. He was such a smart baby who knew how to open doors to get what he wanted. He would scratch the furniture whenever he needed something, knowing that it would get my attention. It feels so weird now that he's not around anymore to cause trouble.

I miss him desperately. If there is an afterlife, I hope he's eating all the treats in the world, chasing all the birds, and starting the apocalypse.

I love you so, so, so much, Cinnamon. 💞

r/cats • • 15d ago

Mourning/Loss I'm no longer a cat dad.

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42.4k Upvotes

About 2 weeks ago I lost one of my girls. It was so sudden and very hard to comprehend. Those 3 days of watching her rapidly decline broke me. One of the hardest things I've ever done was taking her to be put down. I was by her side till the end. When I brought her home I let her sister see her, I was told that this was the right thing to do. She approached her, smelled her and licked around her head/neck. I buried her underneath an old Chinese maple in my backyard. 10 days after, waffle shut down. It was immediate. Unlike Oreo, she hid underneath my living room recliner. I brought her food and water and tried to get her to have some but she refused. I laid with her on the floor talking to her while petting her softly. She refused to come out. She was gone the following morning. I laid her to rest next to her sister son after. My girls were almost 17 years old and it's been hard getting used to life without them. I'm constantly thinking I've done something wrong or didn't give them the best life I could and the thoughts are hard to shake. I'm fortunate to have my dog so the house doesn't feel entirely empty. She still watches the door when I give her a snack to make sure the cats aren't coming as if they were gonna take her treat. Their names were Oreo and Waffle. Like any members of the family, their names morphed over the years. I'll miss you both, Gorbo and Waff.

Edit: Just wanted to thank you all for the support and condolences I have gotten. I didn't realize this would reach so many people and its a bit overwhelming but in a good way. It makes me happy knowing a part of the world has gotten to see my 2 gals. I made this post earlier in the day after I went out to the garden to check some plants and found myself staring at their resting place below the tree. I was feeling sad and just wanted to share my experience and thoughts. Finishing my day and logging onto Reddit to this has be very welcomed. Thank you all.

r/cats • • 25d ago

Mourning/Loss Kitten died after one week of having him and I don't know what I did wrong

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22.1k Upvotes

Hi. This morning I woke up to find the kitten I had recued a week ago had passed away in his sleep. He was about 45 days old and we assumed he'd been abandoned by his mom maybe. He was full of fleas and had an eye infection (he was blind from one eye), we took him to the vet every single day since we found him so they could keep track of him. He had started eating a lot, was playful and no longer had any fleas as we bathed him and took them out. The vet told us to start deworming him. Yesterday we gave him the last dose of the deworming medicine, and he was dead this morning. Could I have done something differently? Maybe I should've waited before deworming him, he was still too weak.

Edit: After reading some comments I feel the need to clarify that no, he isn't dead in this picture. I took this pic when we first rescued him and he was meowing, that's why he looks like that, plus he was dirty and his eyes were in bad condition.

r/cats • • 16d ago

Mourning/Loss Let it be known he lived.

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31.9k Upvotes

We raised him after his mother left him in a bucket outside before a rainstorm.

He wasn't even 3. They helped him to rest about an hour ago after a blocked urethra became a worse internal complication that'd affect his quality of life even if they could have fixed it.

My sweet, gentle boy. I love you. I'm sorry that we couldn't do anything. I hope that you know you take a piece of me with you into the hereafter.

May the stars guide you home, wherever you are. May the next life that finds you be a kinder one than this.

Let it be known he lived. Let it be known he was.

I am lesser with his passing.

EDIT: I forgot to mention his name. Duke Clawde Hissybritches I.

r/cats • • 14d ago

Mourning/Loss Our rescue kitten, Noah Dream, unexpectedly passed this morning

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20.4k Upvotes

Out for a grocery run two Saturdays ago, we drove past a "Free Kittens". My wife informed me that this sign has been up for a year.. so we investigated.

We end up discovering an animal hording situation coupled with neglect. We called the police and reported to the ASPCA. Apparently the cops couldn't do anything but that's a whole different story.

We walk into the single wide trailer. Absolutely horrific conditions. There were at least 2 dozen cats plus two 6 week litters of kittens.

My wife spots this little guy, asks if we can take him because we could tell he would die extremely soon. The old guy goes "Well actually I want to keep that one" So I distract him and my wife steals the cat under her sweatshirt.

We rush him to the emergency animal hospital. He had fleas, severe upper respiratory infection, constipation, eye infection, worms etc. We get the medication and take the sweet little boy home.

I'll tell you, this guy was a FIGHTER. He was the sweetest kitten we've ever had the pleasure of knowing. We took him to the vets for the constipation. He got an X-ray... It wasn't good..

His ENTIRE colon was filled with material. And I say material because at the vet when they gave the enema... His stool smelled like asphalt and chemicals. Little grains.. we took him multiple times for enemas. The past two days, he became more energetic, was pooping mostly regularly.. he was really on the upswing.. Noah passed away from a ruptured colon in his sleep.

The first 3/4 of his life, he didn't know what love was. How it felt to be cared for. The final two weeks of his short but beautiful life, he was able to experience what it meant to be loved, cared for, and to be part of a family

Noah Dream.. my wife had a dream a couple months ago where she rescued an orange kitten from immediate death, this was him.

I'll never forget how he would sit on my wife's shoulder, and look out the window when we would take him to the vet. Everyone in the practice rooted for him. He didn't have a mean bone in his body.

We brought an old mattress into his quarantine room and my wife would sleep with him every single night.

He would climb up into the crevice of your shoulder, curl up and fall asleep.

Everytime we would enter his room, he'd sprint to us for love and cuddles.

I'd play steamdeck, and hed come up behind it, put his paws on top and pop his head up to say hello.

He's watch TV shows with us. Whenever we weren't in the room, we'd play cigarettes after sex on a jukebox for him. He loved it.

His favorite toy were my fingers.

He was our entire heart for such a short period of time. We gave him the love he deserved. He didn't die alone.

My wife and I want to eventually open a cat rescue and name it "Noah's Dream". He walked so they can run.

He showed no signs of anything being wrong before he passed, even the night before.

I just want everyone to know Noah, and that he existed, and that he was a very very good sweet boy.

UPDATE: https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/comments/1wx0tmx/update_kitten_rescue_mission/

r/cats • • 22d ago

Mourning/Loss My sweet beloved cat passed away this morning. RIP Beezy. 🐝

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23.6k Upvotes

I live alone in a camper and I found this grey little tabby years ago. She was the most affectionate cat I’d ever seen. She wanted a warm home with food and love, she was grateful and never looked back. For the past 10 years its just been me and her. We ate and went to bed at the same time every single day.

I cut my guitar playing short last night because she was meowing to lay down in bed.
I thought, “How many more times will we have this?”
She slept peacefully all night only to have a severe stoke led by suffering for close to 30 mins. She gave up her struggle and passed at 9:37am. I still cant believe shes in the ground and I feel alone now. I just had to vent to someone, anyone. Beezy kept me company and I was content with just her.
I’m going to miss her terribly

r/cats • • 5d ago

Mourning/Loss A tribute to Paul: 15 years ago, Reddit helped me pay for a stray kitten's tail amputation. He passed away yesterday, and I wanted to tell you how his life turned out.

20.2k Upvotes

Back when I was a sophomore in college, a gray kitten was found trapped in a skunk trap under my friend's porch. His tail was badly injured in the trap. He ended up at my fraternity house while we tried to find him a home, and I started looking after him. Within a few days it was clear his tail needed urgent care, and the vet recommended amputation.

At the time, I didn't have the money, so I made a Reddit account for the first time and asked for help. Here's the original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/comments/izrqo/help_save_paul_and_his_tail/ . Strangers on this sub covered his surgery, plus extra to cover his first few weeks of food and supplies. I decided to name him Paul.

Here's what you made possible:

He spent his first two years growing up in our frat house, after I convinced the house to let us keep a long-term pet (our house father was not convinced we were responsible enough, and honestly, fair). After college he came with me everywhere. He was there through some hard times in my life, and he was there when I met my wife, who, it turned out, had a gray cat that looked just like him. They never quite became friends, but they'd sometimes nap near each other, and we took that as a good sign for us.

Paul was a solitary guy. He wasn't much for cuddling, but he spent his later years napping on our bar stools and kept me company at lunch every day after I pivoted to WFH. Over time, he warmed up to my wife and developed a habit of greeting her after work by sneaking up and loafing in her lap. I was a little salty about that (ahem, who reared you?), but ultimately respect his better judgment. He loved chin scratches and would rub his face on a little spiky brush over and over. In his more active years, he loved playing fetch with a little mouse toy or even a rolled up piece of aluminum foil. He's the only cat I've known to repeatedly bring back a toy over and over like a dog would.

He was diagnosed with diabetes about eight years ago and did well on insulin and wet food for a long time. This year he developed a bladder tumor and kidney disease, and yesterday we made the extremely difficult decision to let him go after things progressed very quickly. He was about 15 and a half.

To everyone who donated to a random college kid's kitten all those years ago: thank you. You gave him a whole life, and you gave me my one constant for 15 years. I wanted you to know how the story ended.

Here are some photos I'd like to share of him: https://imgur.com/a/MPzbMsf / https://ibb.co/album/Kzm347

I'm in a much different place now in my life, and I plan to pay forward the kindness that reddit showed to Paul. I'll be donating all of his remaining unopened food and medical supplies, and making a contribution to the organization that helped with his low cost neutering.

r/cats • • May 05 '26

Mourning/Loss It really fucking sucks to go to the vet for something you think is minor and come home with an empty carrier

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108.9k Upvotes

His name was Oscar, he was 10 years old but I had him for 6, since I was 13. He was feral after being abused and dumped on my family farm. I was planning on taking him to college with me in September.

Edit: My comment explaining didnt show up but he had a urinary blockage that I didn't catch. Vet bill was estimated 2k-4k for overnight treatment with a low chance of surviving the anesthetic due to high potassium levels, as well as high rates of it happening again. I was under the impression he was constipated or something because he was straining in the litterbox and yelled when you touched his stomach. I took him first thing in the morning after I noticed cuz it happened at night. I didnt have the money for treatment nor did I want him to die without me there so I made the decision to euthanize.

Edit 2: Originally didnt post the reason because I was scared it would get downvoted and people saying it was my fault for not going sooner or doing more, but you guys have helped me feel much better knowing there wasn't much else I could do. Thank you. I think I'm dissociated because my whole body feels numb and I don't really feel like he's gone, or crushing sadness. But when I had to feed my other cat and there was no wailing for food or fighting him to get off the counter, it hit me and I cried on the floor for like 20 minutes.

r/cats • • 19d ago

Mourning/Loss i left my hours for 2 hours & then he was gone

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22.4k Upvotes

yesterday morning when i left my house everything was fine. tommy woke us up yelling for food as he usually does and sat with my boyfriend while he drank his coffee. i returned 2 hours later and he was laying on the floor & i knew something wasn’t right. my boyfriend’s work wouldn’t let him leave so i just held him and cried for hours by myself. i can’t wrap my head around any of this. he was the sweetest cuddlebug and im so upset and guilt ridden that he was alone when he passed. my other cat pawed at him and laid next to us until someone was able to come and help me decide what to do. i’m absolutely devastated and have no idea what to do. it was traumatizing and now coming home i’m so scared i’ll find my other kitty the same way. rest in peace my sweet boy

edit for confusion: my cat had already passed away by the time i got home.

r/cats • • 11d ago

Mourning/Loss Had to put our lil guy down today, this is his big orange brother taking care of him before we had to say goodbye

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56.8k Upvotes

Broke my freaking heart how sweet he was being 😭

Edit to add: Genuinely, thank you all so much for all the kind words, stories and condolences. This was so special because, though they were brothers, little Odie was 10 years older than our big orange Ozzy. So Ozzy was more like the annoying hyper young brother. 😆 Bathing eachother was rare for them. The vet believed Odie got blood clots that made him unable to walk well, so we tried treating him for 3 or 4 days but he just got worse and eventually just laid in the bed like this, under the covers. On this morning, Ozzy jumped up and started sniffing around Odie, so I pulled the blanket back and Ozzy immediately began bathing him. 🥹 Odie was an anxious obsessive bather, so it really seems like Oz knew he was uncomfortable and wanted to take care of him before we had to say goodbye just a short time after this video. My husband and I don't have kids, so our pets are truly our babies. I'm so grateful for all of you who can relate to that and feel the love here. ❤️

r/cats • • May 26 '26

Mourning/Loss would anyone like to send loving vibes to my boy on his last night?

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43.2k Upvotes

this is saul. saul is the best cat i could have dreamed of and has been the niftiest companion for the last 7 years. cat distribution system had an interesting case on their hands: he showed up in my yard and refused to leave, despite his actual owners at the time living caddy-corner behind me. saul was so stubborn that when his previous owners moved, they asked if i would keep him since he wanted to be here. i was beyond happy to do so and it’s been one of the best things to happen for me.

he has a cancerous ulcer on the roof of his mouth that’s progressed to the point it’s time to let him rest tomorrow. tonight is about showering him with as much love and affection as he can get, so i wanted to share in case anyone would like to send him some loving vibes as well. ❤️

edit: i am absolutely blown away by the response, oh my goodness. i imagined maybe a handful of people, 10-20 at best, but this? all i wanted was some extra love for saul and he’s being absolutely inundated with it.

i am going to do my best to meaningfully reply to everyone i can, but please know even if i don’t reply, i’m reading every single reply and hold gratitude for each of you.

to everyone who’s mentioned their pets on the other side, i’m telling saul about each of them so he can look out for them. he’ll make sure to let your babies know you love them. ❤️

thank you, thank you, thank you. endlessly, thank you.

last edit, 5/27/26 5:00 PM EST

saul crossed the rainbow bridge peacefully about an hour ago. he was making biscuits on a super fluffy blanket, comfy as a clam and surrounded by love. no crying on the way to the vet for the first time ever. he knew it was his time. it was still the hardest thing i’ve ever had to do in my life. so much harder than i expected. but he is no longer in pain and he had the best possible passing we could give him.

i cannot thank everyone enough who made his last day so special. my boy was flooded with so much love. i can’t tell you how grateful i am. i just don’t have the words. to every single person who gave my kitty love, thank you. he felt it, i’m still feeling it, and you all have made my heart a little less heavy with all this.

r/cats • • Aug 14 '26

Mourning/Loss My baby, Sushi has passed away and I can't accept it

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24.7k Upvotes

she got skinny a month ago an I thought is was worms so I got her deworming and gave to all the other cats. Then 2 days ago she got weak and I was panicking so I brought her to the vet yesterday and found out she had kidney and liver problem, I was shocked and the vet told me there is no reversing for her condition so she suggest I spend the night with my baby, I was ready to sleep on the couch with her by my side. every minute she gets weaker to the point that I was the turning her to the side after 15 minutes or so. This morning at 1am she passed away having me at her side, I'm happy to be the last person she saw before taking her last breath.

I do wish to spend just one more day with her, I actually planned to take her out this afternoon to watch the sun, she likes the sun. I love you Sushi.

If weren't that stupid to see the signs, she would've lived.

please don't leave a negative comment, that's the last thing that I need. Thank You. I just need comfort.

r/cats • • Jun 29 '26

Mourning/Loss Veterinary hospital neglected my kitten for 22 hours until she met her demise at their veterinary care*

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29.5k Upvotes

My poor beloved and never forgotten kitten went through the deadly roller coaster of the evil, unethical bullshit veterinary practices in my part of the world...

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May. 9, 2026: She's a rescue that I adopted on day 1 of her rescue front he kind folks that found her abandoned on the streets

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June. 21, 2026: it's been about a month and she's persistently vomiting during and after eating. But her appetite is fierce and her paws are quick at defending her food bowl.

So, I decided to get her dewormed at a veterinary pharmacy that was crowdly recommended to me by a local cats community group.

The pharmacist decided to inject her with at least 2 injections and give her at least 2 different types of pills. -$30

I go home and within 2 hours my wife informs me she's semi-paralyzedx eyes dry and wide open unresponsive to light, bone dry to the spine.

I rushed her to a reputable hospital where she was diagnosed with medicine overdose intoxication, giardia and megaesophagus. So she get admitted for 2 days to the hospital. -$452 (-$482 total)

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June. 23, 2026: I went and checked my kitten out the hospital and go home (2 hours process inside the hospital).

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June. 26, 2026: my kitten was losing weight by this date (informed the hospital about this but got no response). I see bloodied stool on my carpet and I send it to the hospital. The doctor says my kitten should be brought to the chicken immediately and I promptly comply and rush her back to the hospital.

She's now diagnosed with panleukopenia on top of the medicine overdose intoxication, giardia and megaesophagus. And the doctor literally says she must've attracted the virus from the very hospital she's at from the last time she was admitted to it. Especially seeing how the virus pathogen was very small and it barely tested positive for the virus.

So she's admitted for another 3 days to get the proper care for the virus. -$462 (-$944 total)

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Today Jun. 29, 2026: I get a message from the hospital that she passed away.

Upon asking for the reason of death and time of death. They responded that it's somewhere between 12pm and 10am. Which by logic and in any math book means she was neglected for at least 22 confirmed hours on the record.

This is extremely infuriating, frustrating, heart breaking and both financially and mentally burdensome.

... And I just got the fu** you on top as I'm writing this. That, admitted pets only get checked on at the beginning and end of the shift of the doctor in charge and there is also a 10 hours when the hospital is closed - presumably meaning don't expect us to check on her when we're closed, dumbass!

r/cats • • Aug 06 '26

Mourning/Loss My cat died today.

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18.4k Upvotes

I hugged him before leaving for a work trip. Hours later my mom called sobbing, telling my that our Chico wasn't blinking. They took him to a vet asap, he just went limp and lifeless. We kept wondering what happened, did it get bitten, did it ingest something toxic. The vet declared it was cardiac arrest.

And I don't know what to do anymore. I'm a sobbing mess who pretends to be strong on the phone to my family. He was healthy! He ate well. He was so young at 2 years old. He was such a good boy, so obedient, so intelligent and athletic. Why was he taken away from me so suddenly. I can't stop thinking I should've held him today a bit longer, should not have told him he's getting fat, should've annoyed him a littlle less. I would do anything right now to get to talk to him and hearing him one more time. I can't stop wondering what went wrong. It's like my mind is filled with reasons trying to blame myself that I could've avoided this, or prolonged his life and health in some way. I know I'm not rational but I'm hurting.

Edit:

Thank you so much, for all your kind words. It's impossible to reply to each one of you on time but I appreciate it. Chico mattered to so many people today. For now, the pain is unbearable because everything in the house mocks me that he isn't returning. My brain tricks me with his smell, and the sound of the tiny bell on his collar. But I guess it'll be painful till it isn't.

I'll share one happy memory of him that will give me comfort maybe when the pain isn't so raw- Chico never slept until all of us made it home, always sat by the door, waiting. Only relaxed and went to sleep when everyone was home.

Thank you guys again.

r/cats • • Apr 30 '26

Mourning/Loss Had to put a stray down and am so so heartbroken

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70.0k Upvotes

She should be here. I gave her love and was with her when she was euthanized but it doesn’t help. She should be here. Alive. In a warm house with all the treats in the world.

I was on my home from work and in the middle of a busy road, I see an animal that doesn’t seem to be moving. As I get closer, I realized it’s a cat and she was moving her head around looking for someone to help. I couldn’t believe how many people were driving past this sweet girl.

I make a u-turn, stop traffic and go and get her. The way she looked up at me was heartbreaking. It looked like relief and confusion. She was meowing softly the entire time I was driving to the vet and was just being the best girl. I could tell her injuries were really bad but wanted to hold out hope.

The first urgent pet clinic I took her to did an initial work up and told me she was pregnant. She’s not older than 3 yrs old herself but she looked even younger than that. Her two back legs were severely shattered but her pelvis and spine seemed fine and she was alert and respond to oxygen well. This gave me hope she could recover with surgery.

After being transferred to a bigger hospital, they let me know that unfortunately her injures were more serious than the initial doctor worked up. She had signs of a tbi, one leg would definitely have to be amputated and the other would require extensive surgery with possible amputation as well. Her spine has signs of compression and her fetuses weren’t viable and could cause a lot of complications during surgery. Her quality of life even after trying everything she needed, would likely not be good.

We euthanized her. I was with her and gave her pets and the biggest forehead kiss when she passed. It made it a little easier knowing she passed in a comfy bed and not on the road. But how can that feel better when she should be alive?

I don’t know. I hope I made the right choice. I only knew her for a few hours but I loved her deeply. I need people to know she existed. The vet asked for a name but I didn’t have one. I was going to go with Athena. I miss her so much.

r/cats • • 10d ago

Mourning/Loss Two days ago I had to say goodbye to my best friend since I was 8 years old. I want people to know that she existed, and was loved so much.

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17.0k Upvotes

First two pictures are me with her when I was 8, last 3 are on her last day.
After a long battle with lymphoma my family made the choice to let my cat, Nala, go at the age of 11. It was the absolute hardest thing I have ever had to do. I held her in my arms the entire time and told her over and over that I loved her but I still feel like I failed her somehow. Whenever I try to think about her, I just see her lifeless body and think of how she felt in my arms after it was over and I breakdown. I go to college hours away from my parents house and haven’t been there the last months of her life, except for 3 weekend visits. When I came back home to say goodbye she was so, so excited to see me. She purred and purred and laid in my lap for hours. I feel like I betrayed her, she was so excited to see me and now she’s gone.

When I lived at home she would sleep in my bed under the covers with me every single night. She always insisted on curling up as close to my face as possible and would purr until she fell asleep. She always greeted me when I got home from school and followed me everywhere. I can’t even find the words to explain how much I loved her, as silly as that sounds when I’m talking about a cat. She was with me for longer than I was alive without her. She deserved to live longer, 11 feels way too young. I feel so utterly empty and don’t know how to move on from this.

I don’t know why I’m even making this post. I guess I just wanted to share some pictures of her and my thoughts to show that she existed, and was loved. It feels like she’s just gone now and never existed and I can’t stand that. I love you so so much my sweet angel, and I’ll miss you forever.

r/cats • • Jun 01 '26

Mourning/Loss Gucci, he was 17. Just want the world to know he existed.

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66.3k Upvotes

And that he was the best boy ever. 17 years ago I found him dying in July heat, I brought him into my house, nursed him back to health, took him to the vet too. Vet said he was around 6 weeks or so. I tried to look for his owners, nobody responded to any of my posters in the neighborhood. I said well I guess I have a cat now, and I was never a cat person. This beautiful boy taught me that I was wrong about cats, and he's been my best friend ever since. He would run and jump at me when I came home from anywhere, he would sleep next to me every night, hell he even helped with groceries when I brought some home (or so he thought). You know when you're carrying lots of bags and they run between your legs and almost trip you to your death? Yeah that.

Came home couple days ago from work and I could see he was breathing very very heavily, I picked him up and literally within seconds he passed away. I don't know how I'm gonna move on from this yet, I'm fucking destroyed. My heart is in absolute pieces.

Sorry for my vent, just wanted to share with people who love cats too. Most people in my life look at pets as just that, pets. He was my boy, my son, and I'm gonna miss him soooo fucking much. I also wish I still had older photos where he was little.

EDIT: Holy, I posted just to vent and hoping to hear from a few people who I know must have gone through this with their own kitties. Went to do laundry and stuff to be distracted, came back and this blew up. Thank you all for the kind words and love. I'm still reading most them, and I'm already in tears. I wish I could reply to all of you individually but that ere hundreds. I will keep coming back to this post and your words when my brain fucks me and makes me feel guilty and questioning myself if I have done enough, and what could I have done more of or better, maybe he would still be around. That guilty that your brain makes you feel is the worst part.

Thank you once more for the kindest of words, and awards. I'm glad to hear you like my boy, he was truly magical. Maybe one day I will start sharing all the shenanigans we've been through together, he was special and always will be. I have other cats, and I can tell they miss him too. I will get more once I'm ready. I have too much love not to share with another feline. Kiss your babies for me, and tell them I say pst pst pst. For those that lost theirs, I'm sorry for your loss as well and I hope they're all hanging out together waiting for all of us. Love you all. Couldn't thank you enough.

r/cats • • Aug 31 '26

Mourning/Loss I just want people to know that she was here and she was loved.

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26.2k Upvotes

Today my family made the decision to put our beloved Macy to rest. She had been diagnosed with cancer towards the beginning of the year, and we knew it meant that we were on borrowed time. That time ran out this past week when she no longer was wanting to eat or do things like she used to, so it was clear she couldn't fight any longer. She gave us nearly 17 years of love, so we repaid that love by giving her the ultimate kindness of letting her go with most of her dignity and freeing her from her pain. Macy passed peacefully at home in the arms of my mother, surrounded by her favorite people that loved her so incredibly much.

If love was enough, you would've lived forever. We miss you so much already, babykitty.

Macy

(09/17/2009–08/30/2026)

r/cats • • Apr 16 '26

Mourning/Loss to my baby jojo im sorry.

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48.0k Upvotes

I’m overcome with a lot of feelings at the moment. First I wanna say how sweet and adorable my baby was. He was my first ever pet and he was truly the most perfect cat. He would always sleep next to me wake me up with him licking my face and sitting on my chest. Always followed me to every room and just so silly and always made me laugh. He was barely 3 and a half months old and today he is no more. He was mauled by my neighbours 3 dogs. Writing this is making me sick to my stomach but I just don’t think I can live with myself at all. Everything was so normal and right now my baby is buried in the ground when he should be playing with his toys and sleeping on my chest. The worst part is how brutally he died and the fact he was just a baby. This is the part I cannot forgive myself for. Today morning I fed him breakfast like usual and I was just in my room. All our main doors are always locked for his safety and i like him to roam around the house freely as there’s no escape. I should’ve been more careful because last night I literally had a dream where my cat died but I shrugged it off as a dream. I wish I didn’t. After an hour after I last saw him in my room I went downstairs to look for him and I couldn’t find him anywhere I panicked and looked Everywhere and went outside and asked a lot people if they did. Then I went to my lower floor where there’s still construction going on and went another floor below which is adjacent to my neighbours building. I saw a girl in the balcony and asked her if she saw a kitten and she said she did. She was very vague about it as she said I just shooed him away. I immediately assumed he would be downstairs and went to go look but count find him. When I was back up she called me and very casually said I found a dead kitten. My heart immediately dropped. I climbed over to her balcony and took a turn and saw his body. I immediately recognised my baby. I went closer and saw him dead with his intestines all out and splattered. I got numb picked my baby in my lap and started crying. My brother showed up and the girl didn’t say anything just that her dogs bite people all the time and that’s why she shooed him when she first saw him. I had no idea my cat even went to her balcony. She never specified or else I would’ve come and checked there asap. Her excuse was “I’m not a pet lover” “I’m allergic to pets” and I was like it’s common sense to tie your dogs if you see a kitten but u didn’t. Plus my cat is a Persian too and she knew he belonged to someone. She took no precaution at all. And the worst part is she wasn’t even apologetic and started being extremely graphic with how my kitten died and how the dogs were tearing him from each other and had blood on their mouth and paws knowing I had just lost my pet. I’m so mad. I’m mad at that stupid girl and her ugly dogs who have a reputation of biting people all the time and her utter lack of common sense. I’m mad at myself because this incident happened after I had asked her if she saw a cat so in a span of few minutes my kitten was dead. He must’ve heard my voice and came out too. I’m so mad. I wish I never let him go out my sight. Right now my hands are still dirty after i buried him. I packed him his favourite toys and his snacks and food and a letter and I wrapped the box with my scarf so he won’t get cold. My poor baby. I cannot live without him I truly can’t. I got him at a point in my life where he brought me extreme happiness where everything is just dark. He was so perfect and well mannered and so silly and clingy and I swear the most adorable face I’ve ever seen. He was my first and I’ve never loved anyone or anything this much. It was so pure he was so pure and I could feel his love for me and it’s just not fair how he had to go away in the most nightmarish brutal way. I wish he lived longer I wish he lived a happy full life he didn’t even get to live half of it. He was cornered by 3 big dogs and he must’ve been so scared and it must’ve been so painful. I’m in so much pain I wish I can join him so he’s not alone. My baby jojo. I miss u I’m so sorry.

Update

Hello. Thank you for your kind words i can’t reply to all of you but i am reading everything and it does help me knowing how so many people from different parts of the world are keeping my jojo in their thoughts and prayers. Roughly 24 hours have passed since the terrible incident and i have never been worse. I’ve never experienced something like this and I have a lot of guilt and anger. Some people are telling me to get a new cat but it won’t take away my pain because it’s not about me at all. I’m sad because of the horrifying and painful way my little baby had to go through it’s not simply a loss of a pet. I wish someone had stolen him instead. I had such little time with him I’m jealous of everyone who got years with theirs. I live in a really small town in Asia and the only animal authority here is for rescuing stray dogs and cats. There’s quite literally nothing for reporting and euthanising “pet” dogs. And a lot of people are asking how my cat got out and I checked the surveillance cameras and at all times the main doors were shut so I’m only assuming he must’ve somehow found his way to my parents room and their balcony which is in a quite different floor from mine and maybe fell from there as he was fond of sitting near edges the reason I NEVER let him go out. My parents did not see him there at all but they did use the balcony to dry some clothes so I guess in the few minutes it was open he got out. I feel the need to explain this but I also take accountability and I have immense guilt I wish I never let him go out my sight. For some of you asking regarding my neighbour she’s like way older than me probably in her late twenties she’s not a little girl who didn’t know any better. she’s the owners sister and her sister wasn’t home at the time and she literally saw my kitten in her balcony and chose NOT to tie her dogs while telling me “if it was my sister she probably would’ve kept the kitten in a safe place away from the dogs but I’m not an animal lover 🤡” she fully knew what she could’ve done but chose not to. Her negligence and lack of common sense and her heartless dark spirited soul is the main reason my kitten was mauled by their dogs. I went there again in the evening to tell her off to her sister and how disgusting and heartless her remarks were and how she was not apologetic at all and her sister made this grown woman apologise to me. But I still think I was way too softer and I’m planning on going again today and tell her off idc if it leads to a fight. I felt the need to update because I really appreciate all the support and all the kind words and to those few who feel the need to blame me and had questions I hope I answered it. I am blaming myself every second of the day and can’t stop seeing his little running body in every corner of the house. I miss him terribly. I wish I could avenge him. I can’t do anything except put up a fight with my neighbours. I wish I could do more. I wish I was more careful. Please hold your pets and kiss them extra today! I would do anything to be in your place. You will never know a love like this. Thank you from me and my jojo 🌸🐱